PCCEO will receive $290,000 in South Village TIF funds to initiate the first phase of the MacArthur Highway Corridor Plan.
City council approved the funding to be used for pre-development activities such as environmental and engineering analysis, community outreach, and coordination of partners.
First district councilmember Denise Moore said PCCEO comes with a proven track record of development on Peoria’s Southside.
“They’ve already built in this city, and particularly on the Southside more than 175 houses...and once again they have stepped up to the plate to say they would lead the development of this project,” said Moore.
The agreement with PCCEO gives the organization up to 12 months to complete the MacArthur corridor project’s pre-development activities.
City seeks expansion of Peoria Cares call system
Logging a concern or complaint for city services may soon become a little easier in Peoria.
City Manager Patrick Urich asked city council to approve a $75,000 budget amendment to expand the Peoria Cares call management system.
Currently the call system operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and provides residents a way to easily contact the city regarding potholes, broken street lights, or other non-emergency concerns for public safety and city services.
The additional funding would allow those call center hours to extend to 6 p.m. during the week and add Saturday call center hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Urich said the service expansion would be made possible through a contract agreement with Advance Medical Transport, the private nonprofit that currently provides the City of Peoria with ambulance service. AMT also operates the 2-1-1 hotline that connects residents with a variety of social services.
Urich said AMT “provides expertise with 2-1-1” and the contract agreement would go further to expand the service than hiring internal staff.
Despite the general support of the expanded call service, numerous council members balked at a vote without first having the chance to review the contract with AMT.
A vote on the budget amendment was deferred for two weeks for city staff to provide the council with a draft contract.
Free Mulch Day
The City of Peoria will give away free mulch on Saturday May 1 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Peoria Public Works facility located at 3505 N. Dries Lane.
“This is a free service we’re proud to provide to our Peoria City and County residents,” said Sie Maroon, “We hope residents will come and take advantage of this natural byproduct of our downed storm debris and daily tree operations.”
Peoria City and County residents are eligible to participate. Participants are encouraged to bring their own work gloves, shovels and containers to collect and haul away the mulch. There is no limit to how much mulch residents can take. Residents can also load trucks and trailers.
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